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Wonder Woman Vol 2 38
Supporting Characters: * ** ** ** ** ** ** ** * Antagonists: * Other Characters: * * * * * * * * * * * Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | StoryTitle1 = Forbidden Fruit | Synopsis1 = As per tradition, the Feast of Five is initiated by an elaborate pantomime of the Amazons' creation, devastation, salvation, and foundation of Themyscira, narrated by Menalippe. This performance is much acclaimed by both the Amazons and their mortal visitors, though Lois and Diana privately note a strange antipathy in Menalippe's voice. Following the pantomime, the delegates begin exploring different areas of Themyscira: * Maritza Nitumbe and Felix Zumac marvel at the incredible biodiversity and soil quality * Robert Cantwell, Phyllis Haller, and Rev. Witherspoon examine the Amazons' library and intellectual traditions * Dr. Morakov exchanges medical knowledge with Amazon healers * Asmund Lindel, finding the island's mystic storm-clouds reminiscent of the Iron Curtain, debates their merit with Queen Hippolyte * Henri Tibet probes the capital city's design influences, belatedly learning the city's chief planner is long dead * Rovo Quashi amazes several Amazons with his musical talents, which his famine-struck homeland has offered few opportunities for * Lin Koo Teng, heavily embittered by the Tienanmen purges, visits the altar honoring the Amazon lives lost to Doom's Doorway; its maker, the usually-militant Hellene, counsels her to make peace with her losses These activities are witnessed - and eagerly recorded - by Lois, who then conducts an exclusive interview with Diana; the two women quickly build a friendship, even gently teasing one another about "affairs" with Superman. Moments later, they find Rabbi Hecht in a rage, accusing the Amazons of antisemitism. When Diana investigates, she finds that Penelope and her fellow priestesses have ejected him from their temple, citing "contamination" from his differing faith. Outraged, Diana demands to see Menalippe, and is sent to Hellene's altar. There, Diana hears the oracle's voice drifting from the surrounding caves - the once-feared vessels of Doom's Doorway. Thinking Menalippe in danger, the Amazon Princess charges inside, and almost immediately falls into a dark, directionless void, then a blinding light, and finally an ambush by several massive serpents. Diana fights bravely, but in vain; having shed her usual armaments for the Feast, her only weapon is her tiara, which falters against her foes' strange, bark-like skin. As Diana struggles in the serpents' coils, she is horrified to find her own flesh melding into the bark. Desperate, she prays to Artemis, only to be interrupted by Menalippe. The oracle now stands a mindless thrall, singing only the praises of Ares and declaring the Amazons sisters to the War-God's daughter: Eris, Goddess of Strife. It was Eris who had corrupted Menalippe, who had corrupted the rest of the Amazon priests, and who now means to corrupt the whole Feast with her infamous golden apples. By sundown, Diana's absence begins attracting attention, as both Amazons and mortals assemble in the Royal Hall for the Feast's central banquet. Tempers begin to flare, while Lois nurses her private suspicions and Philippus proposes a search party; to the surprise of all, however, Menalippe suddenly appears, with a "fashionably late" Diana in tow. | Notes = | Trivia = | Recommended = | Links = }}